App #44: IFTTT (free)

IFTTT (If this, then that) has been around on the web for a couple of years now, but has now come up with its own iOS app. This is a free service that lets you automate actions within your iPhone. This is great service if you use apps such as Dropbox, Evernote, Instagram, Twitter etc.

I always wanted to try this beforehand, but never took the time. Now that it is available on iOS, it literally took me just a few minutes to begin setting up my own “recipes” (Their term for the automations). Once you set up an account, you connect all the apps and that's it (just input all your different app passwords once). To begin, try searching recipes in the “Trending” or “All Time” categories. Once you get the hang of it, you can easily compose your own automations. The possibilities are endless!

Some common recipes include:

Save your your iOS photos to Dropbox or Google Drive

Save your email attachments to Dropbox/Evernote/Google Drive

Keep track of completed tasks on Reminders to a Google Spreadsheet

Text you Birthday reminders from Facebook

Here is a screenshot of some of my recipes:

You can set up background sync if you wish to run, but I would suggest just opening the app every now and then for all the automations to take place. Read more about IFTTT hereand have fun! IFTTT is an iPhone app, but will run fine scaled up 2X on iPad. Download IFTTT (free) here.